Winds of Change
by claihm solais
Summary: When new officers arrive at Bokuto Station, an enigmatic, reckless new cyclist causes quite a few heads to turn ... including Aoi's.
1. Chapter 1

You're Under Arrest: Winds of Change

A You're Under Arrest Fanfiction novelization by: Patrick Nguyen Huu

Disclaimer: I don't own YUA, that credit goes to Kosuke Fujishima.

Summary: With Natsumi's transfer to the Special Operations Division, the Bokuto Traffic police receives a replacement officer, a transfer from the investigations department upon his own request…And Aoi meets someone he never expected to see again.

Genre: Romance/Action/Comedy

Author's Note : I'll refer to Aoi as "she", simply because, well, Aoi's more woman than man, from my perspective.

Chapter One: The New Transfer

"A new transfer?" Everyone in the office looked up at Yoriko's startled exclamation. The chief just nodded and raised the newspaper again. "Since Tsujimoto transferred, that leaves us short one officer. He'll arrive any moment now, make him feel welcome." The bespectacled girl hadn't even heard the last statement, instead having turned to her colleagues to share the newest gossip.

"I hope he'll be nice to work with. But why another cyclist?" Saori wondered out loud as she listened to Yoriko. Aoi nodded her consent. "True, we're short one female patrol officer." Glancing over the desk at the male section of the office, she noted none of the motorists were very thrilled about the new addition to their ranks. "So, what do you think he'll be like? I hope he's cute!" Yuriko had stars in her eyes. They vanished nearly immediately after as she realized she had set up a Goukon for later that week.

The chatter was interrupted when the door opened and someone stepped into the office. "Officer Kurichi Kei, reporting, sir." The young man standing before them was in the blue uniform of the traffic police's motorcyclist division, a helmet clutched under his arm. The only thing that distinguished the uniform from any other were the two insignias pinned to the chest. One was the silver eagle of an ace driver, the other was a small blue cross with a shield.

The room's attention was immediately riveted on the new arrival as he snapped to a crisp salute, and every single pair of eyes focused to evaluate him. He was lean, at 5'9" he was about Aoi's height, and, while not of Nakajima Ken's muscular build, seemed athlethic enough and moved with an uncanny grace that unsettled many of the veterans of Bokuto. Shoulder-length black hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, and wild strands fell into clear blue eyes.

The chief stood, returned the salute, and gestured towards his personnel. "Welcome, Kurichi-kun. Settle in, and prepare for your first patrol. I'll assign officer Nakajima to show you around Bokuto Precinct." Kei nodded. "Thank you." His eyes wandered around the room, resting briefly on Aoi, before he grinned at the large policeman. "So, Nakajima-san, shall we?"

"Now?" Ken nearly bolted from his desk. "It's not even time for the morning patrol yet!" Kei smirked, turned around, swinging his uniform jacket on as he went. "No time like the present, eh? I'll meet you down at the garage then." After he had left, Nakajima glanced around the room. Seeing that no help or advice was forthcoming, he shrugged and headed down, as well.

V---------------------V

Aoi froze as sky-blue eyes met her dark green ones. She could have sworn she knew those eyes. Working over her memory, she searched for any face that matched the name or the eyes she had seen, but drew a blank. _Who is Kurichi Kei? That face…it's so familiar._ She knew that she had met Kei before, but couldn't by her life remember where or when. Everything about him seemed familiar, the way the ponytail swung, the graceful movement, the eyes, the rough but slightly effemiate face.

"Aoi-chan? Aoi-chan, you all right?" Aoi turned to the voice that had jolted her out of her reverie. "Oh, Miyuki-san. Yes, sorry, I was just thinking about something." Yoriko nudged her with her elbow. "It's that new officer, isn't it? Aoi-chan finds him cute! Aoi-chan finds him cute!" Aoi blushed and waved her hands in an attempt to stop her friend's sing-sang of "Aoi finds him cute."

V---------------------V

The car raced up ahead, clearly intending to take the turn on the highway, in an attempt to shake the pursuing Today. Saori reached for the radio as she hung on for dear life. Since Natsumi's transfer, Miyuki's driving hadn't mellowed out. In fact, it had gotten wilder, if such a thing was possible. How her idol could make the mini patrol car dance on the street like she did, Saori would never know. "This is Bokuto One, we're in pursuit of a red Toyota Camry, heading north on Bokutei Road."

"I've got him," the reply came over the radio as the car in front of them swerved right to avoid a collision with the motorcycle that had just shot out of a side-street. "Nakajima-kun!" Saori could hear the smile in her partner's voice. "Saori-chan, hang on tight," Miyuki ordered. The junior officer did as she was told, and Miyuki reached for the dashboard. "Nitro, on."

The engine roared as the new mixture was injected into the combustion chamber, and Today took off, speeding past their target. Reaching for the hand brake, Miyuki brought her car around in a J-turn, blocking off the offending vehicle's path, while Nakajima's cycle pulled up from the side. The traffic violater, didn't exactly comply with their plan, and turned into the oncoming traffic, narrowly missing an oncoming trailer.

"He's insane! Someone's going to get hurt if he drives like that!" Miyuki started the engine again and began to bring the car around. "We're going to loose him," she murmured, angry at herself. "I got him," a new voice chimed over the radio, and a second cycle raced past the still Today, it's siren flashing. "Who…Kurichi-kun?" Miyuki smiled as she pulled Today along, the patrol car slowly gaining ground towards the police cycle and the pursuit vehicle.

"Got it in one, Kobayakawa-san." There was a muffled swear over the radio, before Kei continued. "He's not going to stop at this rate. You've got him in sight, Kobayakawa-san?" "Yes."

The cycle in front of the car sped up slightly. "Good. Don't loose him." The two policewomen in the car stared dumbly as the cycle swung right, into the traffic, dashing past honking cars as it accelerated. "What are you doing, Kurichi-kun!" Nakajima's angry voice crackled over the radio. "Return here at once, what you're doing is dangerous!" "So? He's not stopping if we don't stop him."

A moment later, Miyuki was forced to hit the brakes hard as the red Toyota they had been chasing broke out of the lane of the incoming traffic. Tires screeched on the ground as it slid to a halt, the white cycle stopping just next to it. Kei dismounted and knocked on the window. "Let's see…we've got speeding, reckless driving, endangering of the public, disregard of an order to stop, disregard of public safety laws, and drunk driving. Your license."

He turned to wink at the two in Today, before tipping his head in salute and driving off again.

V---------------------V

"You should have seen it, it was so cool," Saori had stars in her eyes. "He drove right into the incoming traffic, and caught that speeder!" Aoi sighed, recognizing the glint of hero worship in the junior officer's eyes. "But what he did was reckless, and dangerous. He could have caused an accident himself," she commented as she sipped her tea. Saori shook her head. "I thought about it, he wasn't stopping, and had almost lost Nakajima-san and Miyuki-sempai."

Aoi shook her head and turned away slightly, glancing at where Kei was standing in front of the chief's desk receiving a scolding and commendation at the same time – something that, to this day, only Natsumi had been able to achieve. _So reckless,_ Aoi mused, _but it's odd, even Nakajima-san doesn't dare to drive like that. __I wonder…_

"What a day." She looked up to catch the cyclist she had been thinking about staring over his desk at Miyuki. He caught her eye for a brief moment, and shrugged. "I didn't catch up to him," the younger Nakajima told her, before turning back to his desk work. Aoi was startled out of her reverie when Kei snapped to attention, and brushed past her on his way to his desk.

V---------------------V

Aoi hesitated as she walked past the garage. The lights were still on, and there was someone moving inside. Checking her watch, Aoi confirmed that it was indeed late at night. Usually, only Miyuki stayed this late to tinker with Today, but the young policewoman had gone on ahead after her shift had ended. Aoi herself had stayed late to finish some paperwork for the chief that had required immediate attention, hence her late departure.

Curiousity won over fear, and she walked up to the garage door, prepared for anything, be it burglar, stray animal, or late mechanic. _What burglar breaks into a police garage?_ She mentally scolded herself. Peeking around the corner, she could see a person's back as he knelt before a motorcycle, the short black ponytail dangling down between his shoulder blades.

"Kurichi-san?" Kei's head swung around at the new voice. "Oh, Futaba-san." He smiled. "What brings you here, so late at night?" Aoi walked over to her fellow officer and leaned against the wall. "Actually, I was going to ask you that. And there's no need to be so formal. Please, call me Aoi."

He grinned at this, a lopsided smile that seemed hauntingly familiar to Aoi. "Only if you do the same," he told her. Aoi's eyebrow quirked up as she smirked. "You want me to call you Aoi?" She broke into laughter as Kei flushed red and started stuttering. "That's not what I meant! I mean, what I meant is…"

"I know what you meant, Kei-san. I was just teasing." Aoi smiled softly as he turned his eyes away briefly, making her wonder what he was thinking about. "I was just, well, tinkering." He sighed as he leaned back against his cycle. "It helps me think and relax." Aoi giggled. "You're just like Miyuki-san," she told him. "Only, she's this way with cars. From what I've heard, you're quite the driver, too."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I like motorcycles. Been driving them ever since I could, I guess. Get the job done, catch the perps, you know?" Nodding, Aoi slid down the wall to sit on a stool. "Kei-san?"

"Yes?"

Aoi debated for a moment whether it was really wise to ask him what she was about to, knowing that if the answer were a no, it would sound like an odd question to ask. "Have we met before? You look familiar," she abruptly broke off as she realized what she had just said. Kei just chuckled. "I thought that was a guy's pickup line." For a moment, Aoi thought she saw something flicker in his eyes, like a painful memory, but the shadowed look passed too quickly for her to confirm.

"No, we haven't, Aoi-san. I've heard quite a lot about you, though. You made a lot of our work easier in the investigations department." She smiled at that, bowing her head gracefully as she acknowledged the compliment. Kei absently pulled a rag over and wiped his hands, before standing and brushing off his pants. He offered a hand to Aoi as he got up. "It's late. Would you like me to walk you home?"

She blushed slightly as he helped her up. "Thank you," she said as he locked the garage. She usually walked to work, as her apartment was close by, and was rather surprised when they didn't stop to pick up any vehicle. "You don't drive to work?" Kei shook his head. "I live rather close by. Besides, I prefer walking."

They remained silent until they reached the apartment complex where Aoi lived. "Thank you again, Kei-san. Would you like to come in for tea?" she offered as they stood at the door. "Another time, perhaps. I've still got some unpacking to do. Oyasumi-nasai," he told her as he turned around. "Kei-san?"

He looked over his shoulder at her voice. "Yes?" "The elevator is down that way," Aoi pointed down the corridor. He shrugged. "Yes, but I'm not going out." He grinned as he inserted his key into the lock of a door down the hall and pushed it open. "Oyasumi," he repeated as he entered.

V---------------------V

"Ohayo," Aoi announced as she entered the office, Kei behind her. The room's inhabitants – which, at such an early time, weren't many – looked up to see an unusual sight. Aoi Futaba, accompanied by the station's newest police officer, chatting contently as they settled behind their desks. The chief glanced up from his newspaper and nodded in acknowledgement as Aoi deposited the papers she had finished the night before on his desk. "So, how was your first day, Kurichi-kun?"

Said cyclist grinned. "Fun. But then, you should know. You gave me an earful yesterday." The chief chuckled. "Indeed." He returned to reading his newspaper.

Saori, kept looking between Aoi and Kei, wondering what she was missing. "So, Kei-san, have you finished moving in?" Aoi asked. He nodded. "Not much to move, so yes. Had I known that I'd be working with my neighbor I'd have invited you to some moving soba."

"Eh? You two are neighbors?" Saori queried, eyes wide. Aoi nodded. "Kei-san lives three doors down. I found out last night when he walked me home." She clamped shut as she realized just what a piece of compromising information she had told Bokuto station's second most feared gossiper. "Oh, so Kei-kun walked you home, didn't he?" Saori's eyes gleamed. "I wonder what else you two were doing…"

Aoi started waving her hands before her defensively, when Kei came to the rescue. "Nothing, really. Aoi-san found me in the garage last night as I was finishing up a couple of things on my bike. We talked a little, and walked home." He shrugged. "No big deal." The raven-haired cross-dresser let out a relieved breath as she finally got Saori off her case. "Thanks, Kei-san," she whispered.

Slowly, the remainder of the staff began to trickle in. First were Miyuki and Yoriko; the latter got pulled aside immediately by Saori to share the latest gossip, while Miyuki directed a cheerful "Good morning" towards them as she sat at her desk.

"Hey, Kurichi-kun," Nakajima called over his desk. "Time to go patrol?" The two men left the office to take the first shift out on the streets. Nakajima waited until Kei had pulled up his bike next to his. "Something's not quite right," Kei frowned, leaving a perplexed Nakajima behind as he headed back into the garage, to return with a wrench. Two turns later, he closed the cover over the engine compartment and returned the wrench to its place in the garage.

He started the bike again and gunned the engine experimentally. "That's better." What did you do?" Nakajima looked at his fellow officer's bike curiously. He didn't hear anything different. "There was some vibration in the engine. I figured the drive chain had some give, so I tightened it a bit. It's no big deal, but it's annoying to listen to it." Kei shrugged. "Shall we?"

Ken nodded and drove out of the lot, with Kei behind him.

V---------------------V

"All units, we've just received word that a bank robbery is in progress. Be careful when patrolling Meiji Road." Yoriko turned to Aoi. "Bank robbery?" Aoi halted the car at the stop sign before replying. "That's odd…what's that car doing there?" What car?" Yoriko looked up. "He can't park here!" Pulling the car over to the side, the two policewomen got out. Yoriko was writing a ticket when someone rammed into Aoi, drawing a startled exclamation from her.

"Aoi-chan, what's wrong?" The brunette turned in time to see a heavily coated figure dash down the alley, a large bag in hand. A single yen note floated down. Aoi got back to her feet. "I think that's the bank robber they told us about. Let's go, Yoriko-san." Her former training kicked in, and Aoi ran past their parked car, past a startled Yoriko, and after the fleeing criminal.

"Wait! Aoi-chan, wait up!" Yoriko decided that it would be a good idea to save her breath for running, barely managing to keep up with Aoi's longer stride. The two rounded a corner in time to see the man enter a bus. The doors were already closing, but snapped open when Aoi didn't slow down. "Hold it right there!" she shouted at the man in the thick orange jacket.

"Please come with us to the station, we have a couple of…" Aoi cut off as he whipped around, and she stared into the barrel of a gun. "Drive," he ordered the bus driver.

The man stuttered in fear and closed the doors as he complied.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Bus Hijack

Yoriko cowered next to Aoi, trying to hide behind the taller woman as the man before them held a gun pointed at the bus driver. "What do we do now? We're going to die, we're all going to die!" The brunette was near hysterics, and Aoi was at a loss at how to calm her down. "Yoriko-san! Pull yourself together!"

"You two over there, stop talking!" The two policewomen glanced up to see the gunman frowning at them. "Give me your cell phones. Right now." He waved his gun for emphasis. That was more than enough incentive for Yoriko to hand over hers, and a nudge with the gun barrel convinced Aoi to do the same. In her time with the special crimes division, she had encountered her fair share of firearms, some even from the wrong end. Although she was no weapons expert like Miyuki or Natsumi, Aoi knew enough to recognize the basic design and capabilities of a weapon.

The suspect deftly flipped the gun in his hand and used the grip to hammer the two phones into unrecognizable bits. Yoriko was about to start another wailing fit, but Aoi took the chance when the barrel wasn't aimed at anyone. Leaping from her seat, she tackled the man to the floor, the gun flying from his slack grasp. They struggled around, and for once Aoi was glad she had a male body, as it offered her surperior strength to a female's. "Yoriko-san! Yoriko! The gun!"

The brunette looked up at the melee, her eyes flitting across the ground as she looked for the weapon. She found it at the same time the criminal did, and both made a leap for it. Yoriko reached it first, as Aoi was hanging on to the man's legs, attempting to bring him down. Yoriko's hand grasped the handle of the gun; her head snapped around with the force of the blow as the man pulled his hand back, and the gun skidded even further away.

Aoi lost her grip as the man kicked back. Rolling to her feet, she prepared to lunge at him once more, when she felt a sharp pain at the base of her skull.

The prone form of the tall policewoman slumped to the ground, to reveal another woman. Dressed in a brown leather vest and with a white baseball cap, she stood behind the fallen officer, gun in hand. "Didn't expect that, did you?" She smirked as her partner recovered the gun, then took the handcuffs from Aoi's belt, chaining her and the still-dazed Yoriko together to a bench.

V-----------------------V

"Where's Aoi-chan and Yoriko-chan?" Miyuki wondered as she entered the office. Her patrol had been uneventful, except for the announcement of the bank robbery. She wondered if she was getting bored, and if it was because Natsumi wasn't with her. She let out a long sigh. Saori was doing her best to fill the hole Natsumi's departure had left, and she was grateful for it, but Saori was no Natsumi.

"They're still not back from patrol?" Saori's voice brought her back to reality. "Did they check in yet?" Miyuki asked. The chief simply shook his head. "We aren't sure, last time they checked in they were near Bokutei and Meiji Roads." Turning on her heel, Miyuki marched out of the office. "I'm going to go look for them."

The chief sighed. After Natsumi had transferred, her partner had become more impulsive, it was almost as if Miyuki was trying to take up the slack Natsumi's absence left in terms of recklessness and brashness. It was a nice attempt to simulate normalty, but that was all it was – an attempt. Nothing could replace the fiery officer who had managed to do things her way, cause massive collateral damage, and still catch the bad guys.

"I'll inform the patrols to look for them," Nakajima threw in from his seat. "I think Kurichi was in the area." The chief nodded, and returned his attention to the paperwork in front of him.

V-----------------------V

Aoi woke up with a headache pounding behind her eyes. She clenched them shut in an attempt to ward off the stinging pain, and tried to run her right hand over them, only to find its movement restricted by a cold bite around her wrist. Her eyes flew open, and she hung her head as her fears became a reality. _Handcuffed by the bad guys…isn't it supposed to be the other way around?_ Next to her Yoriko was curled up into a ball as well as she could with one arm cuffed to a bar next to her.

With a decidedly unfeminine groan, Aoi straightened up and surveyed the situation. There were few passengers in the bus at this time; three at the back, and a little girl halfway in between the policewomen and the rear end of the bus. The two accomplices sat at the front, behind the driver, their guns concealed but still aimed at them and the back of the driver's head.

Between the two of them, Aoi suspected they had at least one semi-automatic pistol, which meant at least 15 rounds – more than enough to shoot their way out. The girl moved over to them and stared at them with large eyes. She tugged on Aoi's sleeve, and began to sign. Surprised, the policewoman only caught part of the message as she tried to recall sign language. "You need to go to the hospital?" she whispered. The girl nodded, and signed again.

"Your mother…surgery?" Again, the girl nodded. "When?" Aoi asked. The girl glanced at her watch and indicated the time. "In two hours…she must be worried about you by now." The girl nodded, and looked down. Looking up at the two in front, Aoi called out, "Can you at least let her off? Her mother's going through surgery, and she really needs to be there." The woman turned around and smirked. "Oh, so she's going to get sliced open. So what? Who cares? She'll just tell on us once she's off the bus."

"Tell on you?!" Aoi was livid. "She's mute!" The woman's smirk didn't waver. "So she's a retard. Don't care. Sit still, or else…" The threat that hung in the air was enough to spur one of the men in the back into action. He scrambled to his knees and began to beg. "Please, let me off! I promise I won't tell anyone, you can have all the money I have with me, anything, just please let me off!"

The two passengers behind him stared at him in disgust, as did the woman. "You're not getting off. Now shut up." She belted him with the barrel of her gun, sending him crashing into the back bench. She turned and sat back down next to her accomplice.

V-----------------------V

"Well, we caught this guy," Nakajima informed the chief as he brought in a scrawny man. Shaggy brown hair fell into his eyes as he stared around wildly. "He was speeding and when we apprehended him, we found this." The large policeman pulled a leather bundle out of his pocket. Unwrapping it, he revealed its contents – tools, from wire slings to small screwdrivers and flat-end spatulas.

"Car-jacker's tools," the chief commented. "Turn him over to Detective Tokuno." Nakajima nodded and turned around, tugging on the suspect's arm as he went. "We found the mini-pato Aoi and Yoriko were driving. It was deserted near Meiji Road." "That's where the bank robbery was."

Nakajima nodded slowly. "They might be involved in it." Internally, the tall cyclist was glad it wasn't Miyuki who had been caught up in the case, with her newfound tendency to be reckless, but he hoped Aoi and Yoriko were fine, nonetheless.

The door to the office opened, and Tokuno walked in. The old detective had an irritated look on his face that made Nakajima think twice about saddling him with the carjacker suspect. "Detective Tokuno," he said slowly, as not to irritate the man even further. When said man turned his head, Nakajima indicated the suspect. "The chief wanted me to drop him off with you. Carjacker suspect."

Tokuno sighed. "Fine, just drop him off in the interrogation room. I really wish they'd let us handle the robbery case." Nakajima nodded. "I know what you mean. But this work is important, too." Tokuno shrugged, "So? We're getting the leftovers from investigations. You're right, though, I guess…"

"Uh….'scuse me?" The suspect raised a hand. "Can we get this over with?" Nakajima arched an eyebrow at the man. "You got a place to be?" The man shook his head meekly. "Eh…no, not really." Tokuno grabbed his arm. "Good. Come with me. Im bored, let's play some shogi."

"Shogi?!" The suspect asked incredulously as the elder detective dragged him off.

V-----------------------V

Miyuki looked at the mini-pato where it was parked at the sidewalk. It was a small side-street that exited on Meiji Road, only about a block from where the bank robbery had taken place. Now it had been confirmed the robber had been armed; something she hoped Aoi and Yoriko knew, as well, since they apparently hadn't had access to a radio. She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder as she examined the vehicle – there were no signs of breaking and entering, and the engine was cold.

It was obvious it had been here for some time, and that the two police officers had left it on their own accord. "Miyuki-sempai?" Saori asked from where she stood at the exit of the street. "Yes, Saori-chan?" The junior policewoman was looking at the bus stop nearby. "There's an awful lot of people here, waiting for the bus. I wonder where it is?"

Miyuki shrugged. "Probably late. Well, the car wasn't broken into. Saori, can you drive it back to the station?" The younger woman nodded and climbed into the car, as Miyuki did the same.

V-----------------------V

The bus halted as the traffic light turned red. The two in the front scrambled to hide their guns from view. Aoi sighed and glanced out the window. The driver had been forced to take the bus off its usual route, marking it as out of service, instead. The tall policewoman froze as someone walked past the window. She nudged Yoriko, and the two of them started hammering on the window, trying to catch Nakajima Daimaru's attention. The elder Nakajima turned slightly at the noise, but shrugged.

Finally, the two accomplices noticed their behavior, and the woman rushed over to pull Aoi away from the window, slamming the handle of her gun across her cheek hard. The end of the odd noise did cause the white-haired man to turn around, just in time to see Yoriko frantically scrambling for the window as the bus took off again. He shrugged, but his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he decided to call Miyuki, just in case.

The Zapper didn't have much business at this time of the day, but he immediately recognized the mini-pato that was parked in front of the store. "Miyuki!" he called as he entered. Sena greeted him from behind the counter. Miyuki waved at him, teacup still in hand. "What brings you here, Miyuki? You're still on duty, aren't you?"

The policewoman nodded. "Aoi and Yoriko have disappeared. We're looking for them. We just found their patrol car, near Meiji Road, where the bank robbery was." Nakajima arched an eyebrow. "Really? I just saw them." He didn't quite expect the woman's reaction to that, as she leapt at him and started tugging at his collar with surprising strength. "Where? Where did you see them?!"

"On an out of service bus, east of here. I think they were heading over the Bokuto bridge." Miyuki was out the door before he could say anything else.

V-----------------------V

"We have two officers on an out of service bus, going east towards Bokuto bridge. All units, be advised to use extreme caution. The suspects are armed." Kei arched an eyebrow. Aoi and Yoriko still hadn't returned from patrol, and Saori had brought in their car. "Chief, if that bus came from Meiji, then the bank robber might have used it as an escape vehicle. I mean, it's unlikely there's another armed criminal running around the same area those two were patrolling."

The chief nodded. "We need to intercept that bus. Once it goes over the bridge and we loose it, we won't be able to catch up." Kei nodded and moved out the door. "Do we have any idea where they are headed?" "No. After the bridge, they could be going anywhere in Tokyo. I'm ordering all units to close off the bridge, but it might be too late. They have quite the head start on us."

V-----------------------V

The cycle's engine hummed to life as he shot out of the garage and onto the street, his siren flashing even before he hit traffic. He turned a sharp corner, slipping into an alley as he cut past the main rush-hour traffic, emerging back on the main streets a few kilometers from the Bokuto bridge. Traffic at this hour was thick, and most of the cars didn't have enough room to make way for the police cars that were coming from behind them.

Kei knew from experience that progress in a patrol car was slow during rush hour – it inadvertently took some time until the jam had cleared enough for the cars to pass through. A cycle was a different story, however, and he dashed in between the almost still vehicles as he weaved his way through the traffic. He could already see the bridge, it was just up ahead – as was a bus that was seemingly trying to force its way through the cars.

V-----------------------V

The door to the interrogation room opened, and the chief walked in. Tokuno looked up from where he had been staring at the shogi board; the criminal opposite him had a despairing look on his face. Beckoning Tokuno into a corner of the room, the chief informed the detective of the recent development before leaving again.

Tokuno sat back down and sighed as he fingered his gun. "Bank robbery…Out of service bus…Bokuto bridge…" with each utterance the face of the man on the other side of the table grew progressively pale, until, finally, when Tokuno flipped the gun in his hand and cocked it, he slid from the chair onto his knees. "Please, spare me! I'll confess! I'll tell you everything!"

Tokuno looked up, surprised, and grinned.

V-----------------------V

"Captain, this case is not your jurisdiction. Let us handle it." The chief began to dislike Okababyashi Kunimitsu; it wasn't just the fact that the man was demanding that they completely drop the chase on the suspected escape vehicle when they were the closest units to it, it wasn't just the fact that he demanded all information be handed over – which indicated that the investigations department didn't **have** any information of their own.

No, it was the fact that the man didn't seem to care that there were two of his officers on that bus, and he was ready disregard their safety simply because the case fell into his division's jursidiction. He barely managed to refrain from telling him so. "I've got two of my people on that bus. If we hand over the case now and call off our units, we'll loose the bus once it passes Bokuto bridge. Can you really afford to risk that?"

"It doesn't matter what you think. This is our case, and you're off it! Call off your units, now, or I'll file charges against you." The chief smirked. "File all you want. Better hurry up if you want to catch them before we do."

Okabayashi narrowed his eyes and turned around, his entourage following behind him. The chief smirked as Tokuno came in past them. The elder detective waited until they were out of earshot, and indicated the suspect he held by the arm. "This guy just confessed about the bank robbery. There's two more accomplices, their plan is to ride the bus over the bridge to the nearby marina. He was supposed to get them a boat from there, but we picked him up on the way."

The chief was positively grinning now. "Saori-kun, please inform all of our units of this. Converge on the marina on the other side of Bokuto bridge." The brunette nodded and dashed past Tokuno into the traffic control room.

V-----------------------V

Kei watched as the bus passed a yellow cab, narrowly missing an oncoming car, as it headed for the bridge. Behind him he could already see the flashes of red that marked the patrol cars from Bokuto station, but with the traffic they wouldn't be able to make it before the bus crossed the bridge. A tentative plan formed as he dodged another car. Traffic on the bridge was thinner, but it only had four lanes, which meant that the cars didn't have much room to move to the side.

Moments later, he pulled up alongside the bus, riding on the white dashmarks that separated the lanes. A quick check through the window confirmed the position of the people inside, and he gunned his engine once more, moving up in front of the bus. Matching speed, he waited until there were cars to either side of the bus, and swung his bike around, hitting the brakes hard as he forced the cycle to skid to a halt.

Behind him, the bus driver panicked as he jammed his foot on the brake, barely managing to halt the massive vehicle before it slammed into the hapless police officer. The sudden jolt threw everyone inside off-balance long enough for Kei to force his way in through the doors. The woman reached for her gun, only to find that Aoi had kicked it away, and found herself on the receiving end of a straight punch that knocked her down to the ground.

The man still had his weapon and was aiming it at Kei, when the police officer slammed his hands down on his wrist, forcing him to release the hold he had on the gun. The man threw himself to the floor, reaching for it as he lay on his back. Kei grabbed a hold of his arm, and the two wrestled for control of the weapon; it discharged once, the bullet slicing a neat hole into the roof as it passed, Kei used the recoil to propel an elbow into the suspect's stomach, wrenching the gun from his grasp as he did.

Searching the man's pockets, he found the keys to the handcuffs and quickly released Aoi and Yoriko. The sound of police sirens all around them caused them to look up to see the bus surrounded by patrol cars from Bokuto station. Miyuki was the first to enter the bus. "Aoi-chan, Yoriko-chan, you all right?" Aoi nodded, while the brunette staggered around before slumping against the wall. "I don't wana see any guns anymore…"

"Kei-san!" Aoi called as the girl tugged on her sleeve again. "We have to get this girl to the hospital, quick, her mother's going into surgery in half an hour, and she needs to be there." "I'll take her," Miyuki told her friend, but Aoi shook her head. "You won't make it in time, even with Today, Miyuki-san. It's too far, and with this traffic…"

"Then I'll take her." Kei winked at Aoi. "Got here first, I can get back easy." Aoi nodded and glanced at the girl. She was looking at Kei shyly, as if unsure of what to make of the offer. Finally, she nodded her head and signed. Miyuki beat Aoi to the translation. "Thank you, officer, please take me there." Kei smiled and headed outside with the girl. "Come on, Aoi-chan, I'll take you in Today." Said woman nodded and followed Miyuki outside.

V-----------------------V

The bed was being wheeled outside into the corridor, ad the woman on it shook her head sadly. _Where could she be? She's very reliable…maybe something happened to her?_ The nurse took notice of her patient's expression, and smiled. "I'm sure she'll be here. Maybe she ran late in school, or she had to talk to her teacher." The woman smiled feebly as she acknowledged the nurse's attempt to console her, when footsteps came running down the hall.

"Wait up! Wait!" The nurse turned around, wondering what was going on, when a police officer came rushing down the hallway with a little girl in tow. "Maki-chan!" the woman's smile brighened. "What happened? I was so worried! Where were you?" The girl signed, and her mother sighed. "Got on the wrong bus? Oh, come here."

The nurse smiled and continued to wheel the bed onward towards the operation room. The girl was left behind with Kei, waving at her mother as she went down the corridor. Miyuki and Aoi picked that moment to arrive, skidding to a halt as they rounded the corner. "You made it?" Aoi asked. Kei nodded and turned around to the girl. "Well, Maki-chan, there we go. Take care, ne?"

The girl smiled and signed; Miyuki translated for him. "Thank you very much, officers, I'll remember you and when I grow up I want to be just like you." Kei chuckled. "It's hard work, the pay's lousy, and the criminals nasty. Better become a nurse, or a doctor, or something."

Aoi giggled as Miyuki translated the reply. "But I want to protect peace and justice, like you. And that was a fun ride, I want to do that, too." Kei shook his head. "Oh boy…that's another bad case of hero-worship…" The two women laughed as he sighed.


End file.
